


together again

by dryadfiona



Series: tell me when you need me [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Graduation, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-19 12:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22710688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: Max realizes she has no idea what's going to happen a month from now. She definitely doesn't panic. Well, maybe she's panicking a little.
Relationships: Kate Marsh/Dana Ward, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield, Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: tell me when you need me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616788
Comments: 7
Kudos: 92





	together again

"Finals are the worst thing," Max says, facedown on Kate's floor.

"I know, Max," Kate says sympathetically. Max loves Kate. She's such a good friend. "You do have to take a picture, though."

"I sort of thought photography was going to be cancelled after--you know, everything in October," Max says with a sigh. "How'd they manage to find _another_ really good photography teacher?"

"I thought finals were the worst?" Kate says. She sounds like she's trying to hold back laughter, maybe. Max looks up at her with a small frown. "Why are you still okay with the teacher?"

"It's not her fault I don't want to turn anything in," Max grumbles, rolling over so she's now lying on her back. "I can't think of anything for the prompt either. _The future_. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"I'm not sure either," Kate says with a frown, looking down at her drawing. "I know I'm not in the class anymore, but we have the same prompt for illustration. I may try to draw where I see myself in five years, maybe?"

"That's not a bad idea," Max says. "Finding a good shot for that, though..."

"Well, where do you see yourself?" Kate asks. "I know with Rachel and Chloe, but maybe you could go to Seattle?"

"Not Seattle," Max says absent-mindedly. "It's not far enough away from Arcadia Bay to feel like somewhere new for Chloe, and it's not big enough for Rachel, and it's too expensive for any of us."

"Well, where are you three going when you graduate?" Kate asks.

It's not a mean question. All things considered, it's a fairly innocent one.

"Um," Max says.

"Max," Kate says, worried. "You do _know_ what your plans are."

"Um," Max says again.

* * *

So, here's the thing.

Max isn't _good_ at thinking ahead, sometimes. She tries really hard, but ADHD meds can't do everything, especially since she's been on the same brand since 8th grade. She has ideas for the future, certainly, and she knows she wants Chloe and Rachel with her, and she knows _they_ want to be with her, but--

Fuck, where are they _going_?

Chloe's been saving money to leave Arcadia Bay since before Max came back, but it's not like being a mechanic pays enough to support three. Rachel's parents are rich, but Max knows she hates asking them for things unless she _really_ needs to. Max is on scholarship and hasn't worked a job ever, and has only networked as much as her class has made her.

_dana i need help_

_Is this girl help or other help_

_Because I'm best at girl help_

_its both i think?_

_omw! <3_

True to her word, Dana knocks on Max's door not a minute later. Max opens the door, knowing her hair's an unbrushed mess and the look in her eyes is probably best described as "wild".

"You okay, Max?" Dana asks. 

"Where are you living after you graduate?" Max asks rather than answer the question.

"I have an apartment in town," Dana says. "Rent here's cheap, and I figure I can work at the Two Whales while I save to move out."

"Apartments here," Max says, nodding, and writing something down. "Google didn't show me any."

"Yeah, this town's bad at the Internet," Dana says with a snort. "I swear, my new landlord doesn't know what Twitter is. No way he'd have accepted me otherwise."

"What do you post on Twitter?" Max asks, bewildered. "No, never mind. How much is rent?"

Dana tells her. It's more than Max would want, but it's not _completely_ out of her price range, assuming she and Rachel can both get some minimum wage jobs or something. Rachel could maybe even work with Chloe--she definitely knows more about cars than Max.

"I'm guessing you haven't talked to Chloe or Rachel yet," Dana says, sitting on Max's bed while Max still jots down notes on the floor.

"What makes you say that?" Max says.

"You look like you haven't slept in too long," Dana says honestly. "I told you, I'm good at girl help."

"Your relationship with Juliet is proof that's not true," Max says, which is a little mean, but it's been, like, three months since that disastrous break-up, so it's probably fine. Dana snorts, which is a good sign. "But if I _was_ to ask your advice--"

"Talk to them," Dana says immediately. "You should _always_ do that with roommates, whether you're dating them or not."

"Do you have a roommate?" Max asks.

"Yeah, I'm moving in with Kate," Dana says. "She's nice, and with her, we have enough to afford the rent _and_ basic necessities."

"I forgot about those," Max says sadly, looking at her budget with new eyes. "How'd you talk to Kate about getting a place?"

"She actually asked me!" Dana says. "I thought I'd have to move back in with my mom, but Kate said she'd been looking at apartments and wanted to know if I was looking for a place."

Max is about to ask about square footage or something, but she notices the slight flush on Dana's cheeks. "Hey, Dana, do you _like_ \--"

"No," Dana says before Max can finish the question. "That's--ridiculous."

"Wow," Max says.

"Listen," Dana says. Max smiles. "She's really nice, okay? And she's funnier than I realized, and I really like hanging out with her--"

"I have two girlfriends," Max says. "I'm not gonna _judge_ you."

"I know, but still," Dana says. "I haven't dated a girl since Juliet and we know how _that_ worked out. I really like her."

"What happened to _always_ talk to them?"

"About roommate stuff, not crushes!"

* * *

Max and Dana tease each other about their respective relationship dramas for a few more minutes, but Max eventually starts yawning so much it's interrupting her sentences. Dana heads to bed with another reminder that _no one_ can know about her new crush _including_ Rachel and Chloe no matter _what_ Rachel asks.

When Max wakes up, Rachel's knocking on her door rapidfire.

"I'm comin'," Max mumbles, rolling out of bed and opening the door before fully opening her eyes.

"Morning," Rachel says, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Max's cheek. "I brought you coffee."

"You're the best girlfriend in the world," Max enthuses.

"Rude," Chloe says mildly, walking up. She smells like incense, a sure sign she spent the night in Rachel's room. (She uses cologne to try and cover up weed, now.) "You look like you haven't slept."

"I did," Max says. "Not a _lot_ but I did."

"You know we have a test today, right?" Rachel asks. Max is about to collapse on the floor and die until she notices Rachel's grin.

"You're so mean to me," Max says.

"You love it," Rachel says. "C'mon, we _do_ still have class."

"Lemme get dressed," Max says, moving aside to let them in. Chloe kisses Max when she passes her, which does more to wake her up than the coffee.

"What's all this?" Rachel asks, looking at the scattered papers all around the floor.

Max, facing her closet and halfway through pulling her shirt off, says, "Budget stuff."

"You okay moneywise?" Chloe asks. "Because I can pull from our LA fund if you need me too."

"No, I'm okay," Max reassures her. "Just thinking about the future."

"You're looking at apartments," Rachel says. Max can't see her expression, but she finishes pulling her jeans on quickly so she can talk about this face-to-face.

"Yeah," Max says. "I, um, sort of thought we might...move in? Together, I mean. Somewhere that isn't Chloe's house."

Neither of them say anything, so Max continues, "It's okay if you guys don't want to, I just was thinking about it. About, um, us."

"Yes," Rachel says, looking at Max with a wide, genuine smile. "Yeah, I'd love to move in with you."

"Anything to get out of stepdick's house," Chloe says, but she's smiling, too.

Max beams. "I love you guys."

"Ditto," Rachel says, reaching over to pull her in.

* * *

Later, Max turns in a photo for her final. In it, Rachel's sitting on a counter and Chloe's standing in front of her. They're both smiling at the camera, holding each other's hands. The room's dimly lit, but the kitchen they're in is clean enough, and has plenty of space for Chloe's snowglobes and Rachel's incense and Max's photos on the wall. 

"The future, huh?" asks her new teacher. "This is yours?"

"Yeah," Max says, copy of her new lease in her backpack. "They are."


End file.
